Tourism industry stakeholders decry taxes, all inclusive Package

By Mamour M. MbengaThe tourism industry stakeholders who operate bars, restaurants andclubs have been sharing their concerns on the current 2015/2016 touristseason which they said is yet to fully pick up as expected.As the previous tourist season was hardly hit by the Ebola diseaseoutbreak which has ravaged some neighbouring countries and scarredpotential visitors, the operators in the tourism industry have beenanticipating that since this epidemic is now over the Gambia would seea surge in the number of tourist arrivals this year.Mr. Babou Jammeh, a Gambian operator who is managing a chain of sixtourist spots in the Senegambia area, said this year’s tourist seasonhas started with better prospects than last year when the Ebola wasaffecting some countries in the sub-region.“I’m now the general manager of Club 1, Club 22, Stars Bar &Restaurant, Samantha’s, Ali Baba Front and Ali Baba Garden and havebeen working in the industry as a tourist guide,” he said.He said one of the major challenges facing them in the industry todayis that the majority of visiting tourists do all their bookings withthe tour operators and which means paying everything to the hotels.“This arrangement does not favour us the restaurant and bar owners asthe tourist gets everything in the hotel,” said Mr. Jammeh.Another challenge, he said is the high taxes imposed on theirbusinesses. “We pay taxes every quarter to the GRA (Gambia RevenueAuthority) and to the GT Board annually,” he added.He, however, applauded the GT Board for the efforts it is making inensuring that some of the challenges they face are addressed to thebest interest of the stakeholders.“I am only urging the GT Board to help lower the taxes as businessis very slow. A reduction in tax would attract more investors,”appealed Mr. Jammeh.Mr. Modou Bojang, another bar and restaurant manager in the TourismDevelopment Area (TDA), reiterated the concerns raised by the previousoperator regarding the high taxes. He also confirmed that this year’stourist season is better than last year’s, citing the Ebola outbreakas one of the reasons that affected the last season.“Although, the period of the Christmas season was dull as most of thetourists prefer to spend the time with their families at home, but itis expected that they will be coming in bigger numbers before theseason officially ends in April,” he said optimistically.He also lamented the all-inclusive bookings which, he said, means thatthe tourist pay everything in advance to the hotels.“This arrangement does not give operators outside the hotels anybusiness and should be addressed by the authorities if the otherstakeholders are to survive in their operations,” said Mr. Bojang.He concluded by calling all the stakeholders to work as a collectivein addressing the challenges facing the tourism industry.